Dust receptacle of robot cleaner and a method for removing dust collected therein

ABSTRACT

A dust receptacle comprises a receptacle body having an air inlet and an air outlet, and detachably mounted in a dust collecting chamber of a robot cleaner, a cover fit in the receptacle body to open and close the air outlet, and a dust outlet formed in the receptacle body. Accordingly, the dust collected in the robot cleaner can be thoroughly and conveniently removed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2004-34150, filed May 14, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a dust receptacle of a robot cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a detachable dust receptacle mounted in a dust collecting chamber of a robot cleaner that automatically travels and cleans dust, and a method for removing dust collected therein.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, dust and an air are sucked into a robot cleaner together. Then, the dust is collected in a dust collecting chamber, and only the air is discharged to the outside. To remove the dust collected in the dust collecting chamber, a user has to open a door exposed outside of the robot cleaner, or take out a dust receptacle which is separately mounted in the dust collecting chamber.

However, such conventional way of removing the collected dust is inconvenient since all the processes are manually performed by the user. If the robot cleaner does not have the dust receptacle, the user has to overturn the robot cleaner to remove the dust collected inside, and if the robot cleaner has the dust receptacle, the user should attach and detach the dust receptacle. Both cases are troublesome.

In addition, to make the robot cleaner compact and light, the dust receptacle of the robot cleaner is designed smaller than a dust receptacle or a paper bag of a general vacuum cleaner. Therefore, the user needs to empty the dust receptacle of the robot cleaner frequently.

Especially, the general conventional vacuum cleaner has a very narrow dust outlet compared to a size of dust collecting space. Therefore, it is hard to remove the dust, and the dust often remains in the dust collecting space even after emptying the dust receptacle. Such remaining dust may gradually increase adhering inside and getting hard to be removed. As a result, a suction efficiency is deteriorated. Therefore, the user should shake hard the robot cleaner or the dust receptacle to effectively remove the dust although the dust are not completely removed by this way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a dust receptacle of a robot cleaner which can be facilely emptied, and a method for removing dust collected therein.

In order to achieve the above-described aspects of the present invention, there is provided a dust receptacle comprising a receptacle body having an air inlet and an air outlet, and detachably mounted in a dust collecting chamber of a robot cleaner, a cover fit in the receptacle body to open and close the air outlet, and a dust outlet formed in the receptacle body.

The cover fit in the receptacle body comprises a filter to prevent the collected dust from flowing out through the air outlet. By existence of the filter, suction efficiency can be improved, and further, the dust does not flow into a suction motor disposed behind a discharge port.

The receptacle body further comprises an air inlet pipe unit which inwardly protrudes from the air inlet, and a handle unit disposed adjacent to the dust outlet.

A valve member is formed at an opening of the air inlet pipe unit to cover the opening by its own weight, the valve member being opened by pressure of an air flowed in through the air inlet. A user can conveniently mount or separate the dust receptacle using the handle unit. Further, by inwardly protruding the air inlet pipe unit and providing the valve member, the drawn-in air including dust is prevented from flowing back.

A sealing member is provided with the dust outlet.

The sealing member is made of an elastic material so as to be tightly fit into the dust outlet.

The sealing member has a flanged handle for easy separation from the dust outlet.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for removing dust collected in a robot cleaner, comprising the steps of collecting dust from an air drawn in through the air inlet, in the dust receptacle of the dust collecting chamber, and discharging the air through the discharge port, and removing the dust collected in the dust receptacle by tightly contacting an air inlet of a separate discharge unit to the dust outlet of the dust receptacle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The above aspect and other features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a robot cleaner applying a dust receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of main parts of FIG. 1, specifically showing the structure of the dust receptacle removable from a dust collecting chamber;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the robot cleaner with the dust receptacle of FIG. 2 received in the dust collecting chamber thereof,

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the dust receptacle;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a method for removing the dust collected in the robot cleaner, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a dust receptacle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.

In the following description, same drawing reference numerals are used for the same elements even in different drawings. The matters defined in the description such as a detailed construction and elements are nothing but the ones provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention can be carried out without those defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a robot cleaner applying a dust receptacle according to the present invention. The robot cleaner 20 has an upper casing 41. In a center of the upper casing 41, an image-capturing unit exposure hole 42 (FIG. 2) is formed, and at one side of the upper casing 41, a display window 43 and a plurality of indication lamp exposure holes 45 are formed.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the main parts of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an assembled sectional view of FIG. 2, specifically showing the structure of the robot cleaner. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the robot cleaner 20 comprises a dust suction unit 21 for drawing in an external air with dust, and a load driving unit 31 for driving and cleaning. The robot cleaner 20 has an image-capturing unit 35 and a transceiving unit (not shown) so that it is able to check positions thereof and obstacles during the driving.

The dust suction unit 21 comprises a dust collecting chamber 23 which is open upward, a door 25 for covering the opening of the dust collecting chamber 23, and a dust receptacle 51 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is detachably mounted in the dust collecting chamber 23. At one side of the dust collecting chamber 23 is mounted a suction motor 27 for generating a suction force. The air suction unit 21 also comprises a suction brush unit (not shown) for drawing in the air including external dust to the dust collecting chamber 23.

The dust collecting chamber 23 has an air suction port 22 in a bottom, and an air discharge port 24 in a sidewall thereof. The air suction port 22 comprises a port rib 22′ protruded upward into the dust collecting chamber 23. A hook hole (not shown) may be formed in the opening of the upper part of the dust collecting chamber 23. The door 25 has a hook for engagement with a hook groove formed at the dust collecting chamber 23 so as to openably fix the door 25 at the upper opening of the dust collecting chamber 23. The suction brush unit is mounted at a lower part of the dust collecting chamber 23.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the dust receptacle of FIG. 2. The dust receptacle 51 comprises a receptacle body 53 for forming a space for collecting the dust, and a cover 55 removably attached to the receptacle body 53. One sidewall of the receptacle body 53 is formed as an opening 54 corresponding to a wall of the dust collecting chamber 23 where the air discharge port 24 is formed. The cover 55 is assembled with the opening 54, and an air outlet 56 is formed at one side of the cover 55 corresponding to the air discharge port 24. A filter 91 is connected to the air outlet 56 of the cover 55.

The receptacle body 53 has an air inlet 61 (FIG. 3) on a bottom thereof. The air inlet 61 is open corresponding to the air suction port 22 of the dust collecting chamber 23, and sized sufficiently to receive the port rib 22′ of the air suction port 22. Accordingly, the dust-laden air is flowed into the dust receptacle 53 through the air suction port 22. In the air inlet 61 of the receptacle body 53, an air inlet pipe 63 is upwardly protruded. A valve member 65 (FIG. 3) is openably mounted at an open end of the air inlet pipe 63. The valve member 65 covers the open end of the air inlet pipe 63 by pivoting downward by its own weight, and opens by an air pressure flowed into the receptacle body 53 from the outside.

The receptacle body 53 also has a dust outlet 67 open at one side of an upper plate thereof. The dust outlet 67 is exposed when the door 25 of the dust collecting chamber 23 is open. In this state, the user tightly contacts a suction unit of the general vacuum cleaner (not shown) or a handy cleaner (not shown) to the dust outlet 67, and thereby, the dust collected inside can be discharged. Therefore, it is preferable that the vacuum cleaner or the handy cleaner comprises a suction inlet at the suction unit, corresponding to the dust outlet 67 of the dust receptacle 51 of the present invention.

A longitudinal groove is annularly extended around the dust outlet 67 of the receptacle body 53. Size of the groove corresponds to size of the suction inlet of the vacuum cleaner or the handy cleaner. A gasket 69 may be mounted between the groove and the suction inlet of the vacuum cleaner or the handy cleaner, for airtightness therebetween.

The upper plate of the receptacle body 53 also includes a handle unit 71 in the center. The handle unit 71 is also exposed when the door 25 of the dust collecting chamber 23 is open. Grasping the handle unit 71, the user can attach and detach the dust receptacle 51. The handle unit 71 is dented on the upper plate, and can be integrally formed with the receptacle body 53 simply by an injection molding. The receptacle body 53 may be made of a transparent material so that the user can observe an amount of the dust collected therein.

The cover 55 can be formed in various manners that the cover 55 can be facilely mounted and detached with respect to the receptacle body 53. For example, a connection projection may be formed at the circumference of the cover 55 while a connection groove 52 is formed at the receptacle body 53. In addition, a separation projection 57 is formed at an upper part of the cover 55 to separate the cover 55 from the receptacle body 53. A gasket 93 may be formed inside the receptacle body 53 along the circumference thereof for airtightness with the receptacle body 53.

The filter 91, removably mounted in the air outlet 56 of the cover 55, has a plurality of filter windows on a circumferential surface. On the surface of the filter windows, a porous filtering member is attached. By the above structure, fine dust included in the air which is discharged through the air outlet 56 can be filtered.

Hereinbelow, a method for removing dust collected in the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to a flowchart of FIG. 5.

When a cleaning command is applied, the robot cleaner 20 starts running for a cleaning work (S1). The robot cleaner 20 travels about within a cleaning area, communicating with a control unit (not shown). While running, the robot cleaner 20 diverts from obstacles in front impromptu, according to a general running pattern which has been suggested by the present applicant. During the running, the robot cleaner 20 drives the vacuum generator mounted therein to perform the cleaning work (S2).

When the vacuum generator is driven, first, an external air is drawn in through the air suction port 22. The drawn-in air moves along the air inlet pipe 63 of the dust receptacle 51, and flows into the dust receptacle 51 pushing the valve member 65 which blocks in the air flowing direction. Then, the air is discharged to the outside through the air outlet 24. At this time, dust in the discharged air is filtered by the filter 91, and thus, the dust is collected in the dust receptacle 51.

As time goes, the amount of the dust gradually increases in the dust receptacle 51. The cleaning work is stopped as the robot cleaner 20 or the vacuum generator stops driving. At this time, the valve member 65 of the dust receptacle 51 covers the open end of the air inlet pipe 63 by pivoting downward by its own weight. Accordingly, the filtered dust is prevented from flowing back to the air suction port 22. The user can check the amount of the dust collected in the dust receptacle 51 by opening the door 25 of the dust collecting chamber 23. Also, the door 25 can be made of a transparent material for the user to easily check the collected dust without having to open the door 25.

The present invention suggests two methods for removing the dust collected in the dust receptacle 51 (S3). One is withdrawing the dust receptacle 51, and the other is using the vacuum cleaner or the handy cleaner without withdrawing the dust receptacle 51. Either of them is selected (S4). When the dust are removed by the handy cleaner (S6), the door 25 of the dust collecting chamber 23 should be open. Next, the handy cleaner is driven, in a state that a suction port 11 of the handy cleaner is aligned with the dust outlet 67 of the dust receptacle 51. Therefore, the dust in the dust receptacle 51 can be clearly removed in a short time.

However, when the handy cleaner is not charged with electricity, or out of order, for instance, dust can be removed by separating the dust receptacle 51 (S5). The dust receptacle 51 is withdrawn from the dust collecting chamber 23 simply by grasping the handle unit 71 formed on the upper cover thereof. By opening the cover 55 of the dust receptacle 51, the dust in the dust receptacle 51 can be easily emptied (S7). By reassembling the cover 55 and remounting the dust receptacle 51 in the dust collecting chamber 23 (S8), the cleaning work can be performed anew through the above process.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a dust receptacle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The dust receptacle 51 comprises a sealing member 100 for sealing or opening the dust outlet 67 formed on the receptacle body 53.

The sealing member 100 has a flanged handle 110 for handy use of the sealing member 100. The sealing member 100 is tightly fit to the outer circumference of the dust outlet 67, thereby sealing the dust outlet 67. For this, the sealing member 67 is preferably made of an elastic material such as rubber.

While the robot cleaner 20 is in work, the sealing member 100 tightly closes the dust outlet 67. Therefore, the dust collected in the dust receptacle 51 is prevented from contaminating inside of the dust collecting chamber 23 (FIG. 2) by flowing out through the dust outlet 67. Additionally, loss of suction force due to the dust outlet 67 is also prevented. To remove the dust collected in the dust receptacle 51, the user opens the sealing member 100 using the flanged handle 110, and connects a suction port of a vacuum cleaner (not shown) or a handy cleaner to draw in the collected dust, thereby cleaning the dust receptacle 51.

As shown in FIG. 6, the sealing member 100 may be tightly fit to the outer circumference of the dust outlet 67 to seal the dust outlet 67. However, the sealing member 100 may be also fit into an inner circumference of the dust outlet 67.

According to the embodiments described above, the dust collected in the robot cleaner can be removed in a convenient way.

Furthermore, the dust receptacle 51 can be cleaned using general vacuum cleaners already provided at home or in the office instead of detaching the dust receptacle 51 of such small-capacity robot cleaner every time for cleaning.

In addition, according to the method for removing collected dust of the present invention, the user does not have to be directly stained with the dust or contaminants. The dust receptacle 51 of the robot cleaner is cleaned by the general cleaner, and the user can empty or dump a paper bag of the general cleaner when the paper bag is full.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A dust receptacle comprising: a receptacle body having an air inlet and an air outlet, and detachably mounted in a dust collecting chamber of a robot cleaner; a cover fit in the receptacle body to open and close the air outlet; and a dust outlet formed in the receptacle body.
 2. The dust receptacle of claim 1, wherein the cover fit in the receptacle body comprises a filter to prevent the collected dust from flowing out through the air outlet.
 3. The dust receptacle of claim 1, wherein the receptacle body further comprises an air inlet pipe unit which inwardly protrudes from the air inlet, and a handle unit disposed adjacent to the dust outlet.
 4. The dust receptacle of claim 2, wherein the receptacle body further comprises an air inlet pipe unit which inwardly protrudes from the air inlet, and a handle unit disposed adjacent to the dust outlet.
 5. The dust receptacle of claim 4, wherein a valve member is formed at an opening of the air inlet pipe unit to cover the opening by its own weight, the valve member being opened by pressure of an air flowed in through the air inlet.
 6. The dust receptacle of claim 1, wherein a sealing member is provided with the dust outlet.
 7. The dust receptacle of claim 6, wherein the sealing member is made of an elastic material so as to be tightly fit into the dust outlet.
 8. The dust receptacle of claim 6, wherein the sealing member has a flanged handle for easy separation from the dust outlet.
 9. A method for removing dust collected in a robot cleaner, comprising the steps of: collecting dust from an air drawn in through the air inlet, in the dust receptacle of the dust collecting chamber, and discharging the air through the discharge port; and removing the dust collected in the dust receptacle by tightly contacting an air inlet of a separate discharge unit to the dust outlet of the dust receptacle. 